taste of strong coffee still in my mouth
by thewordsofalullaby
Summary: Somehow he finds himself in a confrontation in the middle of a coffee shop, moments away from starting a fistfight with an asshole, all because the girl behind the counter is beautiful. (coffee shop AU; wolfgang/kala)
1. Chapter 1

Kala isn't exactly sure how she ended up stuck working a shift at the coffee shop on campus at eleven o'clock at night when she has a seemingly neverending list of coursework to finish, but here she is. She blames them all, she thinks: Lito for begging her to take the part-time job when he knew full well how many deadlines she had to meet and how stressed out she was right now ("Come on, hermana, it'll be fun," he had said, before turning and pouting at her, warm eyes wide. "Please? For me?"), Riley for innocently dragging her into a heated debate about the perceived health benefits of hash, getting her so worked up that she'd been pushed into the door of the coffee shop and into an interview before she had even begun to suspect what she was up to ("—It's really interesting actually; there's a lot of evidence that show that cannabinoids might be useful for pain modulation. I'll have to send you some of the papers—wait, Riley, where are you going?"), and Will for just going along with it all and letting it happen ("Hey," he had said, holding his hands up in mock-surrender once she'd come back, a look of exasperation on her face as she eyed the three of them, "don't blame me! It was their idea! I didn't do anything!" She had glared at him at that, knowing that the other two would have stopped if Will had intervened; out of the four of them, he had always proven himself to be the most level-headed one, the one that everyone listened to. "Exactly!").

"Uh, hello? Are you deaf?"

Kala blinks, shaking her head slightly to bring herself back to reality. She blinks again, startled, as she's greeted with the sight of a coffee cup being shaken in her face, taking a step backwards on instinct.

"I'm sorry," she says, mentally chiding herself for allowing herself to get distracted before turning her full attention onto the man in front of her, biting her lip as she sees the obviously displeased expression on his face. "How can I help you?"

"How can you help me? Are you being serious right now?" The man asks, still shaking the cup in front of her face, almost growling at her as he leans over the counter. "This isn't what I asked for."

She bites her lip again, takes another step back. She's never been great at confrontation; she's always preferred to stay out of the limelight, her head buried in her books. She's also never messed up an order before and she feels a twinge of irritation, quickly followed by embarrassment, for having made such a simple mistake.

"I'm sorry," she tells him again, her eyes flicking towards the other side of the counter where Riley is for moral support, but the other girl is too preoccupied by the order she is currently preparing and hasn't noticed the commotion yet, "I'll, um, I'll make another one up. Just give me a few minutes, please."

"Don't bother," the man snarls, rolling his eyes, "I'm not about to let you ruin my order again. Seriously, what kind of people are they hiring here now?"

Kala closes her eyes, forcing herself to take deep breaths as the man continues his outburst. On a day when she wasn't so tired, she would have defended herself and politely asked the man to leave. Today though, she wants nothing more than to just go home and sleep, and she can't bring herself to do anything more except wordlessly listen to the man in front of her, hoping that he'll run out of steam soon.

"—Calm the fuck down," a low voice interrupts minutes later, quiet but firm, "it was just a mistake."

She slowly opens her eyes as the man falls silent and then quickly widens them as she realises that he's now in an intense stare-off with another man, presumably the man who had just interrupted his rant.

"This is none of your business," he tells the man, now shaking the coffee cup in his face, "This is between me and her. Stay out of it or you'll regret it."

Kala holds her breath, glancing back and forth between the two men, a sense of dread quickly building in her chest. This was all her fault. She never took the evening shift because she was always exhausted after her labs, but Lito had a date tonight and he had begged her to cover for him and, well, Lito could be very convincing when he wanted to be. All he had to do was to put his hands on her shoulders, widen his eyes and stare at her. ("Muchas gracias, hermana," he had said, once she'd sighed and agreed, blowing a kiss at her, "I owe you one.")

"Will I regret it?" The other man says, his tone amused, an eyebrow raised. He slowly crosses his arms, looking completely relaxed, not at all affected by the fact that he is inches away from being slapped across the face by a cup of coffee. "I don't think I will."

A beat passes, then two, then three.

...and then Kala's mouth drops open as the man throws the coffee forcefully at the other man, shooting him a triumphant, self-satisfied grin before walking out of the coffee shop and slamming the door shut.

"Fuck!"

"Oh my gosh!"

Kala quickly walks around the counter, grabbing a bunch of napkins and handing them wordlessly to the blonde man who is cursing rapidly in a foreign language that she can't quite identify as he tries to dab at the wet patch on his shirt with his hands. He takes the napkins from her, gives her a curt nod without fully meeting her eyes, before doing his best to dry himself out.

"I'm really, really, really sorry," she tells him earnestly, feeling immensely guilty, shifting her weight from side to side as she watches him.

"Don't be," he replies after a moment, raising his head slightly, giving her a small shrug. "It's not your fault. That guy's an asshole."

"Well, it kind of was my fault," she says quickly, starting to ramble because one, she's always been a bit of a rambler and two, not only is she really very tired but now she can feel adrenaline flowing through her veins at what she's just witnessed. "I mean, he did ask for a cappuccino with two sugars, semi-skimmed milk, two extra shots and cinnamon powder, and it's entirely my fault that I missed out the extra shots. I shouldn't even be working this shift – I never work in the evenings usually – but Lito begged me to and I—" She stops suddenly, realising that the man in front of her is staring at her, his head tilted slightly to the side, a bemused expression on his face. "Sorry," she says, pulling a face, feeling her cheeks heating up as he continues to stare at her. "I think I'm just…tired. It's been a busy week, lots of deadlines."

He gives her a soft smile, shakes his head, and she's suddenly struck by how broad he is and the paleness of his blue eyes. "None of it was your fault," he asserts again, and something in his gaze makes her - want to - believe him. He shoots her another small smile, before returning to patting himself dry again, his forehead furrowing slightly as he focuses on the job.

"I really am sorry," she tells him, smiling despite herself as he lifts his head to frown at her, "I…Can I get you more napkins?"

He shakes his head, looking down at himself. "It's fine," he says, and she notes that she can barely see the stain anymore, hidden within the dark fabric of his shirt.

"What about a drink?" She asks, and flushes slightly at the eyebrow he raises, a smirk slowly appearing on his face.

"A beer would be nice," he replies, still smirking, "but failing that, a black coffee would be good."

Kala nods at him and can't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the simple order – a black coffee, she can do. She moves back around the counter to grab a cup, picking up a pen with her other hand, about to open her mouth to ask him his name but he beats her to it.

"Wolfgang."

* * *

Wolfgang has never understood how the world works and has never wanted to understand. All he knows is that ever since he was young, he has been fighting for survival. He's not sure why his life is like this – maybe he fucked up in some past life even more than he has in this life – but he's learnt to live with it: learnt when to stand his ground and fight and when to run, learnt how to crack safes and steal the odd item to sell and stay alive, and learnt how to keep a low profile and not draw attention to himself. It had been alarmingly quiet in Berlin recently, an observation that had both him and Felix on edge, so much so that they had scrambled the money together for two flights to San Francisco – no return – and were currently hiding out in a cheap hostel. He's been unable to sleep properly since he's arrived due to a mixture of jetlag and paranoia; instead, he's been spending most of his evenings on restless long runs around the city, his path taking him through numerous parks and ending at the coffee shop which he likes, partly because of the quality of their coffee beans and partly because of the loud Mexican barista who shares overly dramatic anecdotes from his life – without him asking – which are so exuberant that they manage to distract him from his own fucked up life, if only for a moment.

The day his routine changes takes him by surprise, just like most of the events in his life. It'd been a typical day for him: he'd woken up late, spent the day with Felix fielding calls from numerous people from Berlin and making plans for their next move, before grabbing some food at the local takeaway and heading out on his evening run. What wasn't typical for him was somehow managing to get himself involved in a confrontation in the middle of a coffee shop, moments away from starting a fistfight with an asshole, all because the girl behind the counter – a girl who he was sure he had never seen before now; he'd remember – was beautiful. In retrospect, it isn't exactly the smartest move he's ever made, but he's always been one to act on his instincts, something that Felix has always chided him for, and his instinct in that moment had told him to interfere and keep the girl safe. He thinks it's worth it when he sees her relax and smile though, her eyes warm. He lets his fists unclench, takes the napkins she offers, and concentrates very hard on not following the idiot out of the door and making him pay for throwing his coffee all over his favourite black shirt. He shakes his head at her dismissively as she starts to apologise to him, because really, she has nothing to be sorry for – she's probably never done anything truly wrong in her life – and gives her a smile, tries to make it reassuring. 'Reassuring' is not exactly something that Wolfgang has ever pulled off well, but it seems to work and he ends up with a steaming black coffee pushed into his hands and her name stuck in the back of his head. Kala.

It's stupid, he knows, but he can't help feeling a little bit disappointed when he returns to the coffee shop the next evening and doesn't find her there; instead, he's greeted by Lito behind the counter, his hands already moving to make him his usual black coffee.

"Wolfgang! Brother!" Lito greets, ever enthusiastic, and Wolfgang can't stop the small smile that graces his face as he steps towards the counter. It's only when he's inches away from the man that he realises that he's unusually happy, his eyes sparkling.

"You're happy," he notes, raising an eyebrow, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the counter as he watches him.

"Sí," Lito replies, with a nod. "I had a date yesterday."

Wolfgang smirks at that, raises his eyebrows as Lito turns and grins widely at him. "Went well then?" He asks, though they both know the answer, and whilst Wolfgang doesn't really know the man, just knows that he makes great coffee and tells great stories, he feels weirdly content at this piece of information.

Lito just laughs loudly, winks, but doesn't reply with actual words. They fall into a comfortable silence for a few moments, before Lito suddenly remembers something, whipping his head away from the coffee he is currently making to look at him. "Riley told me that there was some commotion in here last night," he says, eyeing him, a look of curiosity in his gaze. "With Kala?"

Wolfgang swallows, shrugs. "It was nothing," he tells him, shrugging again. "Just an asshole making a scene."

"Really?" Lito says, raising an eyebrow. Wolfgang doesn't meet his eye, looking past him to stare at the wall, feeling suddenly uncomfortable underneath the other man's inquisitive eyes. Lito doesn't take the hint, just leans forward and lowers his voice into a conspiratorial whisper as he continues. "Are you sure it was nothing? Because 'nothing' is not what Riley made it out to be," he pauses, his gaze suddenly intense, scanning his face for something, "or Kala, for that matter."

Wolfgang swallows again, shaking his head. He's not entirely sure what Lito was looking for in his expression, but he seems to find it, his eyes growing softer in understanding. "Kala, she—She has a boyfriend," Lito tells him, looking a touch apologetic.

"I didn't ask," Wolfgang replies immediately, defensively crossing his arms, his jaw tensing instinctively. He suddenly feels irritated for some reason, and he's not sure why. It's not like he's surprised by this revelation – she's gorgeous and he's well aware that he can't be the first man to think so – and, besides, it's not like 'boyfriends' have ever stopped him from pursuing a woman before.

"Wolfgang, brother," Lito starts, his voice solemn, and somehow he knows that the other man knows exactly where his thoughts are heading. "Kala's family and if you hurt her, I will…I will hurt you."

Wolfgang blinks at that, can't stop the smirk that starts to form as he watches Lito curl his hands into fists. Lito stares back at him for a second, then coughs, awkwardly running his hands through his hair. "Okay, maybe not hurt you," he corrects quickly, knowing that they're both fully aware who would win if they ever fought, "but you would...not get free coffee again?"

Wolfgang raises an eyebrow, the smirk now clear on his face. "You have never given me free coffee," he states bluntly, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes a fraction.

"Well, no, I haven't," Lito agrees, before shooting him a grin that is so earnest that it makes him want to go along with anything the man says, "But…you can have this one for free?"

Wolfgang laughs a little at the man's antics, but nods anyway. "Okay, okay," he says, lifting his hands up slightly in mock exasperation, before adopting a serious tone, "I won't hurt her, I promise."

He's not a liar; he never has been. Felix has (silently) theorised on multiple occasions that it's because everyone in his life has lied to him – his father, his cousins, his uncle – and he's not like them, but Wolfgang just thinks it's simply because he knows he's shit at lying so he doesn't bother trying. Regardless, he means it when he tells Lito he's not going to hurt her.

At least, not purposefully.

* * *

 _A/N: comments appreciated! it's been a long time since i've written anything_


	2. Chapter 2

Kala knows she's in trouble as soon as Riley turns to her, a mischievous look on her face. They're in the library with Will, supposedly studying, but she has yet to see Riley lift a pen or flip a page in her textbook. Instead, Riley's been sitting with her headphones on for the past hour, her head on the desk, eyes closed as she softly sings to herself. Kala doesn't mind the noise (Will definitely doesn't mind) – she's always found it difficult to work in complete silence and Riley's voice is soothing – but she does wonder why Riley is even here, if not to study.

"He was checking you out, you know?" Riley says, tugging her headphones off her ears for a moment, her mouth forming a teasing smile. "That guy in the coffee shop."

Kala doesn't reply at first, just frowns, her mind conjuring up the image of 'that guy' before she can stop it. "Riley," she warns, as she forces herself to redirect her attention to her work, twirling the pencil she's holding in her hand. "He really wasn't. He was just...helping me with a difficult customer."

She finds herself holding her breath as she waits for Riley to respond, her hands occupied with drawing out chemical structures onto the page in front of her. Except...she doesn't get a reply. She frowns to herself, raising her head up to look at her, her frown growing deeper when she realises that her and Will are engaged in some sort of silent conversation about her, their hands flying wildly in a very theatrical, very Lito-like fashion. She must have been really engrossed in her work to miss this.

"-Will, Riley, would one of you please tell me what's going on?"

Kala smiles, feeling a little smug as they both jump, clearly taken by surprise, Will almost falling out of his chair.

"Nothing," Riley replies, quickly schooling her features into something neutral. She meets her gaze, shrugs. "Just...I didn't say anything about Wolfgang."

"What?"

"Before," Riley explains, eyes teasing once more, "I just said someone from the coffee shop was checking you out. I didn't say anything about Wolfgang."

Kala swallows, realises her mistake. It's odd, really, but she hasn't been able to forget his face, even though she'd been in his presence for no more than fifteen minutes. She did read a study recently though which linked adrenaline to memory formation so maybe she's just remembering his face so clearly because of the drama that surrounded their encounter.

"He was definitely checking you out," Riley tells her again, breaking her out of her thoughts. "You should stop by the coffee shop during the evenings sometime and talk to him; he's always there with Lito."

Kala doesn't reply, steadfastly staring at the problem sheet in front of her.

"She should, right?" Riley asks, turning to Will, who just nods and agrees because he's never been able to say no to her. "It would be fun-"

"-You know I have a boyfriend, right?" Kala interrupts, a little harsher than she intended.

The two of them exchange glances.

"Well, we've never met him—"

"—Because he's back home!"

"—And you never talk about him. We just figured that…"

They trail off, both looking a little sheepish. She stares at them, her mind working overtime, before it hits her.

"—Wait a second, you think I made Rajan up? Why would I do that?" Kala exclaims, gaping at them, eyebrows raised indignantly, now standing and pacing around the room. She's not sure whether she's more frustrated at what they're implying, or that she recognises that there's a glimmer of truth in what they're saying. It's not that she had been purposefully avoiding bringing Rajan up, but Rajan is back at home in India and she hasn't seen him – or, really, spoken to him – in months. It's not a big deal; he's busy, she's busy.

"Hey, no, Kala, uh, no-one's saying that," Will says hastily, leaning forward in his chair, jumping into action, his voice calm, trustworthy. "We believe you, I swear."

"We do," Riley says, reaching forward and taking her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I promise. When he visits, you should invite him over one day so we can meet him."

Kala bites her lip hard, but allows Riley to pull her into a group hug anyway. "Family!" Lito exclaims, suddenly appearing at the doorway and grinning widely, oblivious to the atmosphere in the room. "What did I miss?" It takes him two seconds before he's barrelled in their direction and flopped himself on top on them. Kala groans inwardly at the added weight, but leans deeper into the embrace. They can be impossible sometimes, but she knows she'd be worse off without them.

She hasn't quite forgotten about the conversation when she reaches her computational lab later that afternoon, getting increasingly irritated at herself for even continuing to think about it; for some reason, the more she tries not to think about it, the more it replays in her head. What is most frustrating to her is that there are no valid reasons for thinking about it (him) and instead, there are a thousand reasons why she shouldn't be: she doesn't know him, she has a boyfriend (albeit one that is on an entirely different continent, but still), her friends are idiots, she has a million assignments to finish and—stop. She huffs out a sigh as she throws herself in front of her usual computer, loading up her script irritably.

The girl sitting next to her, Nomi, raises an eyebrow, visibly flinching as Kala punches out several commands on the keyboard. "Okay, what's up?"

Kala doesn't reply and continues hitting the keyboard until the girl next to her tugs it away from her, looking as if she physically felt every jab of the keys herself. "Talk to me," she says, pushing her glasses up her nose slightly, giving her a patient, open look.

Kala sighs, but reluctantly starts talking, feeling instantly a little bit lighter as she retells the events of her day, from when Lito woke her up in a panic at three in the morning because he couldn't find his left sock (which, it turns out, was inside his right shoe) to the conversation – no, interrogation – she'd had with Will and Riley in the library.

"Well, I know he's real," Nomi states assuredly once she's done talking, pursing her lips. "Your boyfriend, I mean. Rajan."

Kala stares at her, feeling oddly satisfied and reassured, but then it hits her that if Will and Riley weren't sure of Rajan's existence, why would Nomi be? She likes Nomi, she does, but they have never hung out outside of the lab and she doesn't really know anything about her, except that she probably – definitely – knows more about programming than the professor. ("Why are you even taking this class?" Kala had asked one day, staring at the computer screen in front of her in despair. She had always been much more of an experimentalist, preferring to be in the wet lab surrounded by flasks and beakers than staring at computer screens, but there were some concepts she wished to simulate and to simulate, she needed to learn how to program. "I mean, you clearly know all the material already." Nomi had just grinned, her eyes not leaving her screen as she shrugged. "Easy credit," she had said simply, her fingers moving fast over the keyboard. "Plus, I get to use the computers here to carry out some of my, uh, own projects." To this day, Kala wasn't entirely sure what she had meant by that and wasn't sure she really wanted to know.)

"How?"

"I just…know," Nomi replies evasively, steadily avoiding meeting her eyes as she moves her gaze towards her computer screen. Kala frowns again and then narrows her eyes, squinting at the other girl as she remembers the multiple occasions when she's glanced absentmindedly over at Nomi's screen to see windows filled with pictures of people and what she thinks looks suspiciously like bank statements.

"Wait a second," she says, eyeing her, "you looked me up, didn't you?"

Nomi shrugs, doesn't confirm nor deny it, but it's all Kala needs to know for sure. She narrows her eyes further, shifting her chair slightly closer, feeling a spark of satisfaction running down her spine as Nomi turns to her, looking a little alarmed.

"I can't believe you looked me up!" Kala exclaims, her eyes wide, "I mean, I'm sure it's easy for you to do but…but it's my life! It's private!"

"Don't take it personally," Nomi says, hurriedly continuing as she sees Kala open her mouth in outrage again. "I look everyone up," she says, giving her a shrug, "I'm an all-access kind of girl…but, uh, don't worry, I didn't find anything incriminating. Your life's pretty uneventful, as far as lives go."

Kala blinks.

"Uneventful?"

"Well, yeah. I didn't find any evidence of a criminal record or suspicious bank transfers," Nomi says lightly, raising her hands away from the keyboard to gesture aimlessly in the air, as if it's a common thing that she stumbles across, "but I did find proof of a boyfriend. Which is why I know he's real."

Kala stares, feeling a little dazed.

"It's not my fault, you know," Nomi tells her, looking at her reproachfully. "People are just too careless with their privacy settings nowadays and the information's too easy to find." Kala bites her lip, still silent, not really sure what to say, split between being slightly terrified and in awe of the girl sitting beside her. "A piece of advice though: don't worry so much about what other people think; what matters in the end is you. It's your life, don't let other people dictate it."

* * *

Wolfgang tries his absolute hardest not to think about Kala but for some unknown reason, even though Lito had warned him not to hurt her, the man starts slipping her name into every conversation they have (or maybe Lito's always talked about her like this and he just hasn't noticed until now):

"You know, if Kala was here—"

"Kala always tells me that I should—"

"I was running my lines through with Kala when—"

He does his best to ignore it at first, forces himself not to think about her warm eyes and soft curls – word on the street is that his uncle has figured out that Felix and him are in San Francisco and he really has more important things to think about, such as how to stay alive – but then Lito casually mentions that Kala always takes the early morning shift and suddenly he's waking up at six o'clock in the morning for the first time in his life and itching for a coffee (or a beer). He resists going to the coffee shop though; instead, he just lounges on the armchair in the corner of the dingy hostel room he's sharing with Felix, staring at peeling paint on the wall until it's time for breakfast.

Felix takes an impressive three whole days of this behaviour before he cracks.

"Wolfie, what the hell is up with you? You're awake at six in the morning? Again?"

Wolfgang doesn't reply, just continues staring at the wall. For as long as he has known him, Felix has always been the first one out of the two to wake - even if he's wildly hungover from the night before - and this out-of-character behaviour is unnerving.

"Wolfgang, hey," Felix says, a touch of concern in his voice as he moves towards him and crouches in front of him, reaching forward to firmly shake him by the shoulders. "What's going on? Is it your uncle?"

Wolfgang shakes his head. "No," he tells him, slowly moving his gaze to meet Felix's. "Not entirely," he corrects, because yes, that is another problem. "It's just… it's stupid. I'm fine."

Felix rolls his eyes, continues to shake him. "You're a shitty liar, Wolfie," he tells him, as he has done a million times before. "You know this, I know this, the whole of fucking Berlin knows this."

Wolfgang sighs deeply. He's a shit liar, yes, but Felix is unbelievably stubborn. Stubborn enough that Wolfgang knows he isn't about to let this go until he knows the truth. (Deep down, he knows that Felix's stubbornness is one of the reasons why they are still friends, brothers. After his mother died, he thought he was going to be alone for the rest of his life – it's what his father told him between drinking and more drinking – but Felix had been stubborn enough to push his way into his life and had remained there ever since. He'll always be grateful, even if he'd never admit it out loud.)

"I met a girl," he eventually admits, with another sigh, "at the coffee shop."

"And what?" Felix prods, with both his words and a sharp, well-placed elbow to his side, looking irritatingly smug that he's finally managed to get some coherent words out of him, "She turned you down?"

Wolfgang shakes his head. "No," he says, choosing his words carefully. "It wasn't like that. I didn't ask."

Felix frowns. "Why?"

Wolfgang shakes his head again. "I don't even know her," he says, with a short laugh, tensing his jaw. Felix stares at him at that, an almost comical look of confusion on his face as if he doesn't recognise the person sitting right in front of him. He thinks he should probably be a touch offended at his reaction, but he's just as confused as Felix.

"You, Wolfie, are in need of some serious assistance," Felix announces after a few minutes, a mischievous look growing on his face as he swiftly grabs Wolfgang's arm, pulling him up from the chair and pushing him out of the door. "And who better to help you then Felix Berner, master wingman?"

He's out of breath by the time they reach the coffee shop, his half-hearted attempts to stop Felix in his tracks failing. Felix, on the other hand, is buzzing with energy and looks more excited than he's been in weeks and Wolfgang can't bring himself to be annoyed at him.

Yet.

"Felix, no—" Wolfgang says, gritting his teeth as Felix suddenly pushes past him and starts walking straight through the door. "Wait, don't. Come back. Fuck."

Felix just shoots him a grin over his shoulder and laughs at the rapid cursing that follows. He didn't think that Felix would actually go inside, just thought he'd stare at Kala through the window and laugh at him and—Fucking Felix. Why the fuck did he think it was a good idea to bring him here? He sighs loudly, glancing up at the sky for a moment and uttering one final swear word before following Felix inside.

"Hello there," Felix says in accented English as he reaches the counter, shooting the girl standing there the most charming grin he can muster, "you're Kala, right?"

Kala blinks, slowly raises an eyebrow. "Yes," she says, gesturing towards the pin attached to her shirt. "That is what it says on my badge."

"Good," Felix replies, giving her a nod. "I believe you know my friend Wolfgang?" He cocks his head to the side where Wolfgang is now standing, torn between wanting to kill Felix (slowly, painfully) and wanting to reassure Kala that he's - they're - not completely insane.

Kala twists her head to meet his eyes, her gaze softening a little as recognition hits. "Yes. Well, no. I mean…Kind of?" She swallows, cheeks flushing, and Wolfgang can do nothing but just stare at her. "What's going on?"

Felix turns to him, ignoring Kala's question and the fact that she is standing right in front of them. "Wolfie, she's hot. Like really hot," he tells him in a low, very audible, voice, as if he didn't already know that fact. "You really didn't ask her for her number? You're losing your touch, Wolfgang. Maybe it's the lack of good German beer in this town. We should go out tonight, get drunk. What do you say?"

"Felix, that's enough," he interrupts after Felix's one-sided conversation has gone on for long enough and it's clear that his intense glowering at the man isn't doing any good. He turns to Kala, running a hand through his hair, feeling suddenly uncomfortable as silence falls; it's not a familiar emotion, and he doesn't like it. "I'm sorry," he tells her as he grabs Felix roughly by the back of his neck, smirking as Felix yelps in response. "Felix here is fucking crazy. Ignore him."

Kala stares at the scene in front of her, eyebrow raised, clearly perplexed. "Um, okay," she replies. She glances back and forth between the two of them, her mouth opening and closing several times as if she wants to say something and then changes her mind. Eventually, she settles for a quickly spoken "I really have to get back to work", and then, a quieter, mumbled "I, um, I have a boyfriend. Back home."

Wolfgang tenses his jaw, nods. "Yeah," he says slowly to the latter, "Lito said."

Kala squints at him, mouth falling open, and Wolfgang can't stop a smile from gracing his face as she starts waving her arms at him. "He said what? Why would he— Why were you even talking about me?"

Wolfgang shrugs. He doesn't really know the answer to that either. "We talk about a lot of things," he ends up telling her, "Well, Lito does. I listen."

"—Wolfie, you're really telling me that you would refuse her number if she gave it to you?"

Wolfgang turns to glare at the unwelcome interruption, tightening his grip on the back of Felix's neck. Felix just stares right back at him, his eyes challenging, baiting, and damn it, Felix knows him well enough to know exactly how to manipulate him. He purses his lips, runs a few different scenarios in his head, before deciding that fuck, he's here now so he might as well be honest. (Besides, he's pretty sure that if he did try to lie, Felix would call him out immediately.)

"No, I wouldn't," he finally says, lifting his head to catch Kala's gaze. He clears his throat. "From the moment I first saw you, I-"

He doesn't get to finish his thought, suddenly jostled by the growing line of people building up behind him and Felix. He knows what he was about to say, the words still on the tip of his tongue, and he thinks that somehow Kala must too. She's not meeting his eyes, staring just past his head, her cheeks flushed and hands fidgeting around the cup she's holding. He sighs, curses himself in his head for opening his mouth and turns to leave, dragging Felix with him.

He's one step away from the counter when he feels soft fingers curling around his wrist, tugging back. He glances over his shoulder, gaze questioning, and Kala instantly releases his wrist, her cheeks still flushed.

"You don't want your coffee?" She asks, reaching out to push the drink she had been preparing whilst they were bickering into his hand. "Here, take it."

He blinks, surprised. A quick glance downwards tells him that it's strong, black coffee, just the way he likes it. It's a simple gesture, but he doesn't think anyone, except maybe Felix when he's in a particularly good mood, has ever made him a drink before without him asking for it first. Felix follows Wolfgang's gaze, pulling a face as he turns back to Kala. "Hey, where's mine?"

Kala just shrugs innocently. "You didn't order anything," she tells him, laughing lightly at his subsequent protests that Wolfgang didn't either. "Maybe next time," she says, meeting Wolfgang's eyes with a grin. He grins back, nods, and then pushes Felix - who is now cursing in rapid-fire German at the top of his lungs - out of the door before he can cause any more trouble.


	3. Chapter 3

Kala thinks a lot about the piece of unsolicited advice Nomi had given her that week: to not care so much about what other people think and to just live her life the way she wants. It's perceptive enough that it makes her wonder just how much of her life Nomi has seen (and she makes a mental note to tighten her privacy settings, even though she suspects Nomi could break through them in a matter of seconds). Ever since they were young, her sister's always told her that she's too sensitive, too much of a people pleaser, constantly going out of her way to make other people happy, even if it inconveniences her. She's always hated hearing it, always bit her lip and shrugged it off, but deep down, part of her recognises that it's probably not entirely wrong. Accepting a university offer all the way in America was one of the first decisions she had ever made solely for herself, but even then, she's not completely sure if she would have actually packed her bags and gotten on a plane if it wasn't for Rajan.

When her parents had first realised that she had applied to study abroad and then received an offer, they had been absolutely devastated; devastated enough that Kala didn't sleep for days, staring blankly at the ceiling for hours on end as she tried desperately to figure out what the best thing to do was. She wanted to go to San Francisco – the medicinal chemistry program there was excellent – but she also didn't want to hurt them.

"You should go," Rajan had told her firmly, when she had voiced all these conflicting thoughts to him. At this point in time, he was still just a friend, though she was already beginning to suspect that he was so patient with her, so kind, because he had feelings for her – or, at least, that is what her sister told her in between giggling unsubtly at them.

"But my parents…"

Rajan just smiled, shook his head. "It's a great opportunity, Kala," he had said, and he sounded so confident and sure about it that it made her nod along as well. "They'll understand."

It took six days before she finally managed to summon the courage to let her parents know her decision (Rajan had accompanied her for support, even though she hadn't explicitly asked him to), six weeks before Rajan had asked her out, and six months before she got on a plane and left for San Francisco. She's always cared a lot for Rajan – he's always been so good to her, with her), but she's also very aware that his feelings for her are much greater than hers are for him. He tells her constantly that he'd do anything for her – the love of his life – and whilst she feels immensely guilty for even thinking it, she's not entirely sure she would do the same for him. He makes her happy enough though and her parents approve of him wholeheartedly (she doesn't think she's ever seen them happier than the day she told them that she'd agreed to start dating Rajan), and she thinks that's enough.

…Except now they're on two separate continents and they rarely speak and she's not really sure where they stand anymore—

"—Kala?"

She blinks, then smiles softly, as she sees one of her favourite people standing in front of her, beaming at her as he always does. From what she has gathered from his stories, Capheus has been coming to the coffee shop ever since it opened. He never orders anything though, claiming that he can't afford to buy a beverage every day; instead, he just stops by every morning to talk to her and watch people get on with their lives. ("People are so interesting," he had mused to her one day, grinning as he stared out of the window, watching complete strangers file into the shop. "Don't you think?") Kala doesn't mind; if anything, having him around helps her get on with her job, his eternal optimism never failing to take her mind off looming deadlines and exam-related stress.

"Kala, are you okay?" Capheus is looking at her, his smile faltering slightly as he studies her expression.

"I'm fine," she tells him, giving him a reassuring look, "I promise."

Capheus nods, then tilts his head, shooting her a curious look. "Are you sure?" He starts, almost a little hesitant, "because I was in here after work the other day and Lito told me that there was some sort of commotion. He said coffees were thrown around and everything!"

She blinks.

"Lito needs to stop talking," she tells him, with a sigh, though it's not without affection.

"Yes, he probably should," a voice replies, except the voice is not Capheus', but Wolfgang's. Kala twists to see him standing at the counter as well, his expression unreadable, dressed head-to-toe in black as always. She offers him a soft smile in greeting, though his mere presence makes her heart beat a touch faster. She's just…not quite able to figure out what his motives for being here are. His very loud, brash friend had hinted that he had wanted to ask her out and he had seemed to want to in that moment (she's pretty sure she knows how his 'from the moment I saw you…' was going to end), but since then, he's been nothing but respectful – distant, even – simply coming into the shop every morning and asking for a black coffee. He always leaves looking like he wants to say something more, but he never does, just purses his lips and shakes his head at himself. (If she's honest, she's grateful for it; she's not exactly sure how she would react if he really did try to ask her out.)

"Isn't the weather amazing today?" Capheus asks him, oblivious to the silence that has fallen, shooting him that trademark smile of his, gesturing at the window with one hand.

Wolfgang raises an eyebrow, looks more than a little awkward, and Kala fights the urge to laugh at the expression on his face. She doesn't think she's ever seen anyone so clearly uncomfortable about engaging in small talk.

"Uh, sure," he replies eventually, when it becomes clear that Capheus is waiting for an actual, vocalised answer from him.

Capheus grins at him in response, then starts asking him about his life, what he does, and everything in between ("Your accent: it's German, right? You're from Germany? Whereabouts? What are you doing all the way here in San Francisco? What's Germany like? I've always wanted to go!") Wolfgang just stares back at him, brow furrowing slightly, looking more and more uncomfortable by the second as Capheus' barrage of questions continues. Kala can't help but laugh out loud at this, but decides to rescue him; if only because Capheus' one-sided interrogation is making herdizzy as she struggles to keep up.

"Capheus, let him breathe," she tells him gently, giving him a kind smile. Capheus has the grace to look embarrassed, but then glances down at his watch and realises the time. "Oh, I have to go!" He tells Kala, though he's already halfway out of the door, "my bus isn't going to drive itself!"

She watches him leave fondly, before turning back to Wolfgang, her hands already moving to start making him his usual black coffee. She smiles a little as she notes that he's still looking shell-shocked, dazed even.

"So…you're from Germany?"

He nods, slowly, his eyes focusing onto her face again, gaze intense.

"Berlin."

* * *

Wolfgang's not a complete idiot: he knows that a girl like her would never – should never – go out with a guy like him, but it doesn't stop him from returning to the coffee shop day after day. Felix tells him that he's being fucking pathetic, rolls his eyes at him, and tells him to just man up and ask her for her number, boyfriend be damned. He doesn't though, manages to restrains himself from doing something he'll likely regret, especially since he's still got diamonds stashed away in the minibar and he knows for a fact that his uncle is coming after him for it. She's beautiful, and innocent, and everything that he wouldn't normally look for in a woman, but there's just something about her that makes him keep waking up at six o'clock in the morning and going to see her. He never says much to her, except for a simple 'hi' and 'thank you', but then he catches her one day when she's in the midst of chatting with a man...and then that man is talking to him as if they're the best of friends, and his resolve breaks.

"Are you a student here as well? At the university?" She asks him, once he's told her that yes, he is from Germany. He laughs at that thought, shakes his head.

"No," he tells her honestly, with a shrug, "I'm—I was never great at school. Always hated studying."

Kala frowns at that statement, looks as if she doesn't completely understand how that can even be possible, and he quickly realises why as she begins to talk again. She's smart, studying chemistry, and she starts rambling on about how she wants to work for a pharmaceutical company in the future and help discover new drug candidates for neurological disorders before he even has the chance to try to understand what the hell she is talking about. He doesn't interrupt her though, just lets her talk, if only because her voice is weirdly soothing and, well, he has nothing better to do. She realises he's not entirely keeping up about ten minutes into her monologue though, stopping abruptly as she eyes him, her forehead creasing slightly.

"I'm sorry," she tells him, cheeks flushing, shaking her head, then realises she's been holding his finished coffee in her hands whilst she's been talking and apologises again. "I tend to talk a lot."

He offers her a soft smile, shrugs. "It's okay, I don't mind," he says, as he gently takes the coffee from her, tugging it from her fingers; it's a bit lukewarm now, but he doesn't really care. If he's honest, he's never really given a damn about science (the little he understands about the world is already confusing enough), but she's clearly so passionate about it that it almost makes him want to reconsider his stance. She smiles at him in response – a genuine, wide smile – and he feels a pang in his chest because, damn it, she is so—

"—What are you doing in San Francisco then? Do you work here?" She asks him, interrupting his thought process.

He blinks, purses his lips, shifting uncomfortably on the spot. He's not sure what the best way to say I'm on the run from my uncle because I stole a bunch of diamonds is so instead, he settles for a vague "family business", gives her a dismissive shrug, and breathes an inward sigh of relief as she doesn't push it any further than that.

"Do you like it here?"

He shrugs again. "It's alright," he tells her, then adds honestly, "I haven't really had the chance to explore properly."

Kala gapes at him a bit at that, looking a touch horrified as she shakes her head at him, before starting to tell him about all the tourist attractions that he must go and visit when he has the time. He just smiles in response as he listens to her speak, but it comes out a bit tight, forced, because he knows that visiting a tourist attraction isn't exactly in the cards for him; probably will never be. He's not sure if she picks up on this, but if she does, she doesn't mention it, just continues talking at him.

When he finally drags himself away and makes it back to the hostel, he can tell that Felix is awake by the amount of rattling and cursing he can hear coming from the bathroom. Wolfgang sighs, already opening his mouth to tell him to shut up before he has even acknowledged his arrival, knowing what is about to come next.

"Wolfie, you're really fucked this time," Felix tells him, as he sticks his head out of the door, giving him an incredulous look; even if he wasn't still holding a (now-empty) coffee cup in his hand, he knows that Felix would have guessed exactly where he had been this morning immediately. "Why is it that half our troubles always seem to start with a pretty girl?"

Wolfgang purses his lips and doesn't reply; instead, he just twists around and swiftly throws the cup he's holding at his head, smirking as Felix yelps in response, quickly ducking. It misses him, but only just. He moves to the sofa, lying back on it, staring at the ceiling, doing his best to ignore the stream of very creative profanities now coming from Felix's mouth that are being aimed at him. Felix is right, he probably is fucked, but he thinks he'd probably be fucked even if he hadn't stumbled into the coffee shop that night and saved her from an asshole. He's not stupid; he knows that it's not going to take long before someone from Berlin finds them, but he hasn't quite figured out what to do about it yet.

"Wolfgang," Felix calls, his voice a little softer now as he reaches the sofa, reaching out and clapping him on the face. "What are we going to do?"

Wolfgang sighs, shrugs. "I don't know," he tells him bluntly, and it's enough for Felix to gape and stare at him in horror. He forces his eyes shut at that, feeling guilt pool up in his chest: Felix didn't ask for this; any of this. "I don't want to talk about it."

Felix is nothing if not persistent though and in the end, Felix manages to convince him that the solution is to go and find a nightclub, get wasted, and forget ("It's the answer to all life's problems," Felix proclaims, and he says it so conclusively that Wolfgang wants to believe him and he eventually agrees). He's pretty sure it's not the smartest move they've ever made, considering that they're supposed to be in hiding, but having a beer (or two, or three) sounds really attractive to him right now and Felix is clearly going a little stir-crazy at being cooped up for so long. The nearest club they manage to find to where they're staying is some sort of salsa bar, but it serves cheap drinks, it's full of people and the music is loud enough to stop them from getting lost in their own thoughts. They exchange glances, shrug at each other and decide to stay.

He's about halfway through his second beer, relishing the familiar taste in his mouth (it's not as good as German beer, of course, but it's better than nothing), silently listening to Felix trying to chat up the two girls standing next to them when he suddenly pauses, squints. He thinks he spots Lito in the crowd on the dancefloor – no, that's definitely Lito – and with Lito is a whole bunch of people, one of whom is Kala; he's not one to believe in fate but seriously? Felix tears his eyes away from the girls when he realises that Wolfgang's staring into space, rolling his eyes as he realises what he's looking at. He moves to shove him in their direction, but by this point Lito has already spotted him, bounding towards him energetically, arms outstretched.

"Wolfgang, hello!" Lito greets, as he reaches forward to clap him on the back. The man is clearly more than a little bit tipsy, but his grin is as welcoming as always; it makes Wolfgang smile despite himself, and he can't help but wonder what it's like to be so free. "Do you want a drink?" Lito asks him, then tilts his head, starts talking again before Wolfgang has a chance to open his mouth and refuse the offer. "I'll buy you a drink."

It's not long before he ends up with his half-finished beer still clasped in his left hand and a tequila shot courtesy of Lito pushed into his other hand. "Cheers, brother," Lito tells him, as he clinks the shot glass he's holding with his and then downs it, gesturing for him to do the same. Wolfgang shrugs, follows, eyes sliding shut momentarily as he tips it back. Once his glass is empty, Lito grabs him by the shoulder, attempting to push him towards the dancefloor; except the people there are dancing salsa and it's not really the type of dancing that Wolfgang really wants to engage in when he's still pretty damn sober. He resists the attempts, shakes his head, and Lito pouts at him but eventually lets it go, disappearing back into the crowd with a flourish, catching the eyes of most of the girls – and guys – in the room.

"He'll try again," a voice says to his left, and he turns to see Kala, smiling softly at him as she leans against the table. He swallows, forcing himself not to think too hard about the red dress she's wearing and the way she's looking at him. "You're not going to get away that easily." He frowns at her at that, and she just laughs. "Lito absolutely loves salsa," she tells him, with an affectionate smile, "and he's very convincing when he wants to be."

Wolfgang's not really sure how to respond, so he just shakes his head a little, takes another sip of his beer. They sit in silence for a few moments, before Kala pipes up again, shifting slightly, moving her weight from one foot to the other. "Can I get you something?" She asks, biting her lip, looking almost surprised at her own words. "Another beer?"

He gives her a smile at that, runs his hand over the neck of his bottle, forcing himself to focus on the coolness of the glass underneath his fingertips. "I think that should really be my line," he tells her after a beat, then notices that her own hands are empty and shoots her a questioning look. She shakes her head at his unspoken question, and he nods in response, tipping the rest of the beer smoothly down his throat. She's staring at him as he does it, he can feel it, her eyes warm and intense as they carefully track his movements, and suddenly—

"—I need to get some air," he says abruptly, standing up from his chair. He pauses then, hurriedly gets his next words out before he has a chance to take them back, feeling the alcohol in his veins starting to have some effect. "You're welcome to join me, if you want."

Kala glances at him, clearly surprised, but then her expression turns into a frown as she looks down at the table, suddenly unsure; hesitant. He's quick to realise what she must be thinking, especially since he can vaguely hear Felix hooting at him from across the room ("Get it, Wolfie!" He fights the urge to not turn around and tell him to fuck off, just because he knows it'd probably scare her off even more.) He takes a slow step forward, places his fingers under her chin and gently lifts her head up until he's meeting her gaze.

"I'm not going to try anything, I swear," he tells her honestly, and she bites her lip in response, her eyes wide. "I'm just getting some air."

She doesn't say anything, doesn't move, but he can tell that she's still uncomfortable, based on the way her fingers are suddenly distractedly thrumming against the surface of the table. He sighs a little, slowly removes his hands from her face, and turns to go without another word. He's not really sure why he's disappointed; if anything, he should be relieved that she didn't follow him - a complete stranger - out of the door because he has a habit of fucking things up and she doesn't deserve that—

"Wolfgang, wait," he hears, and then he turns to see Kala standing next to him, her usual soft smile slowly reappearing on her face as she looks up at him. He meets her eyes, eyebrow raised, and she shrugs casually, though he can sense that she's still a little nervous. "I'm pretty sure Lito would kill you if you tried anything," she says eventually, eyeing him up, "I think I'll be perfectly safe with you."

He closes his eyes at that, momentarily wishes he was a better man so that he could tell her not to follow him; but he's not. He just purses his lips, tenses his jaw, and holds the door open for her.


End file.
